De Soto`s camp at Uzita`s Village

On Monday, June 2, 1539, the armies of Hernando de Soto arrived at the deserted village of Uzita at the mouth of the Little Manatee River. A description of the Indian village where de Soto placed his camp is provided by the Gentleman of Elvas (an unknown Portuguese knight from the town of Elvas who participated in the expedition and provided a first hand narrative).

"The town was of seven or eight houses, built of timber, and covered with palm leaves. The Chief`s house stood near the beach, upon a very high mount made by hand for defense; at the other end of the town was a temple, on the top of which perched a wooden fowl with gilded eyes. The Governor (de Soto) lodged in the house of the Chief. The rest of the dwellings, with the temple, were thrown down, and every mess of three or four soldiers made a cabin, wherein they lodged."

Along with temple mounds and burial mounds, Safety Harbor period sites around Tampa Bay also have middens composed of garbage, mainly shells, discarded by the villagers who had lived at the site. These middens mark the locations of the houses described by the Gentleman of Elvas in his account.

The information in this section was excerpted from the following books:

Hernando de Soto and the Indians of Florida by Jerald T. Milanich and Charles Hudson and Florida Indians and the Invasion from Europe by Jerald T. Milanich